Motorbike rider Paulo Goncalves of Portugal died after a crash during the Dakar Rally in Riyadh on Sunday. He was lying 46th overall going into the seventh stage from Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir.
The 40-year-old, representing Hero MotoSports Team Rally, and competing in his 13th Dakar Rally, suffered the fatal fall after 276 km in the seventh stage in the 339-mile route from Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasi. The organisers informed that he was pronounced dead in hospital after he was found unconscious following a cardiac arrest.
Goncalves was the 2013 FIM Cross Country Rally World Champion, and was runner-up to Marc Coma in the 2015 Dakar Rally.
In a release, Hero MotoSports Team Rally condoled Goncalves’ death. “ The organisers released an alert at 10.08 [a.m.], and dispatched a medical helicopter that reached the biker at 10.16 [a.m.] and found him unconscious after going into cardiac arrest. Following resuscitation efforts, the competitor was taken by helicopter to Layla hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead.”
Wolfgang Fischer, Head-Hero MotoSports Team Rally, said, “He was a true champion, gentleman, reliable friend to everyone in the racing world and a role model as sportsman and personality.”
